Things You Must Do In Gettysburg, PA

"Hey look, it's Abraham Lincoln!" Natalie said, pointing as we walked up to the Gettysburg National Park. "I'm sorry you got shot," she added as we walked by.

We recently returned from a trip to Gettysburg, and let me tell you, it's a gorgeous town. The grass was emerald green. The sky was robin blue. Fluffy white clouds dotted the sky. The temperature was pleasant in the 80s, a welcome reprieve from the 100 degree temperatures we've been having in Texas.

My husband has always been intrigued by Gettysburg. His Dad was too, but unfortunately his Dad has passed away and never got to visit Gettysburg. So I knew his Dad was on my husband's thoughts. I was also eager to explore Gettysburg--I've always been fascinated with history. If you've never been to Gettysburg, well, I have ideas on what you must do if you go.

1. Check out the Gettysburg National Military Park first before heading for the battlefields. 

You learn different ways to explore the battlefields. You can take a bus tour. You can hire your own tour guide to ride with you. Or you can do as we did and take the auto tour. They'll give you a map on how to drive around and you get to go at your own pace. There's also a museum there, and active duty military members are free.



2. Take the time to read about the battles. There are usually signs out at each spot explaining exactly what went on.

This was helpful for me, because my knowledge of Gettysburg is a tad rusty.



3. Check out the Soldiers' National Cemetery and see the Lincoln Address Memorial.

"So this is where he went 'Four Score and Seven Years ago?' Natalie asked. "Oh and look, it was dedicated in 1912. That's when the Titanic went down."



4. Eat at an old house! We decided to check out the Dobbin House Tavern. There are several in the area, but this was closest to our hotel.

The French Onion soup is AMAZING. Get it!



5. Check out the Sachs Covered Bridge. It's gorgeous. It's about two miles from the battlefields.

Yes, it's historic. Civil War armies marched on it.

6. Do a ghost tour at night. There are lots of options, and we went with Gettysburg Ghost Tours because they had fabulous reviews on Facebook.

It didn't disappoint. We did the Battlecry Tour. It wasn't too spooky, it was mostly stories about ghosts. My daughter is 10 and wasn't frightened at all. I saw kids younger than her as well. You get to walk to various places in town and hear spooky tales about where ghosts have been spotted.


7. Go to the museum at the Gettysburg National Park.

There are many interesting exhibits and it goes into the entire Civil War, not just Gettysburg.



8. Check out the town of Gettysburg. There are cool stores, and you can get a photo like this done:

I know. My husband SO has the face for that era. Natalie's all, "I just loved my hat. I felt like a lady!"



9. Take it all in. At first you'll marvel at the beauty. But then you'll remember what happened there. You'll remember that there were bodies all over the fields. There were people screaming in pain. People who mattered.

Have you ever been to Gettysburg before?